Warhammer is the fantasy world which forms the basis of several Games Workshop table-top, roleplay, board, card, and computer games. Since its invention in the early 1980s, the Warhammer world has come to encompass a huge variety of characters, armies, and scenarios. Its popularity all around the world has inspired fantasy fiction authors, fan sites, and Warhammer societies and clubs. Moreover, Warhammer’s manifold mediums have allowed players to truly get involved in its fantasy world, truly immersing themselves in their armies, characters, and battles.

The Warhammer world was inspired by the novels of Michael Moorcock and the Lord of the Rings series written by Tolkien. The creators were influenced by the aesthetic appearance of Medieval Germany and Middle-earth as described by Tolkien, and as such the setting for the many Warhammer games and scenarios reflected a type of old world Gothic landscape. The Warhammer characters too are reflective of these early influences – elves, dwarfs, orcs, ogres, lizardmen and the undead are some of the many varieties of beings that move throughout the Warhammer world.

Although each game and medium has a rule-book that governs the scenarios, purposes and moves of each character and environment, there is not necessarily a set time limit or ‘winner’ of the game (unless the other players lose their armies, leaving one person in the game). Each of the Warhammer games are enjoyed because they are a world unto themselves that provides an escape from reality.